Lucky Christmases and Long Gone Animosities
by FreeElfDobby
Summary: "Good night, Lily." He quickly kissed her on the cheek and walked up the boys' dorm.Lily has finally succumbed to James' irresistible charm. Sirius has some rather embarrassing secrets. James receives mysterious Christmas gifts that always seem to land him in trouble.Are they gifts of vendetta?Or love? Or both? Watch the drama unfold as you join them in their last year at Hogwarts.
1. Snowmen, Lucky potions and Interruptions

**Lucky Christmases and Long Gone Animosities.**

**A/N: **Hey y'all! This is my first fanfic. It's a little something about Lily and James getting together. With a little bit of help from Sirius. I absolutely love those three. I'm really excited to share this with all of you as it's my first.  
I thank lightningscarpotter for being my beta.  
And I would very much appreciate if it you could drop a review. It'll really help me improve my weak spots.

If I owned HP I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Snow men, Lucky potions and Interruptions.**

He glanced at her for the hundredth time that breakfast. She sat four seats away from him on the opposite side. She looked extraordinarily pretty that day. Some sort of mischievous glint in those green eyes of hers. She looked at him for a brief second and waved, her smile absolutely dazzling. James's heart skipped a beat as he waved back and ran a hand through his hair. It's been seven years and he still couldn't get over how pretty she looked. It was in third year when he really started to notice her. Till then he would just play pranks on her because she was such a stickler for rules and that was a crime according to him. He would sometimes break the rules just to get on her nerves. He loved to infuriate her mainly because she couldn't do anything about it except yell at him. But then she learnt how to hex.

It was in their third year, on the first Hogsmeade trip, that he realized how pretty she actually was.

_"Hey look there's Evans," Sirius said, as he sipped his butterbeer and sat at a table at Three Broomsticks with James, Remus and Peter. Lily had just entered the inn with her friends. Her cheeks were flushed due to the cold and all them were laughing at something they had seen at Zonko's. James had been noticing her for quite some time now. Her red hair, slightly messed up due to the wind and the pink tinge on her cheeks made her look prettier than usual._

_"Why don't you just leave her alone?" a sensible thirteen year old Remus said._

_"Let's offer to buy her a butterbeer and put in an acid pop!" Sirius said, paying no attention to Remus who let out an exasperated sigh. "Wot say, mate?" He clapped James on his back._

_"But that would probably burn a hole through her tongue."_

_"Er...that's the whole point? Also, she won't be able to yell at us."_

_Remus was slightly annoyed and conveniently didn't point out that she could still use her wand._

_ "But then the hole in her tongue would get in the way of her….pretty face," James said. Three pairs of eyes looked at him incredulously._

_"Pretty face? James, Care to explain?" Remus asked._

_"Well, you know… if you examine her face, she's actually pretty." Remus raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly. Sirius' eyebrows shot up into his hairline._

_"You should ask her out mate," Sirius said after a couple of minutes._

_"Ask her out? What do I say?"_

_"Ask her to go with you -"_

_"You really think she'll agree?" Remus asked disbelievingly._

_"Why, of course! It's Jamesy. He's the second best looking guy in Hogwarts," Sirius said patting James on the back."The first being me, of course."_

_So he asked her out or rather demanded her to go out with him. She was shocked but she quickly recovered and flatly refused. Ever since, he'd pester her to go out with him and she would simply hex him._

Something then smacked him on the back of his head and brought him back from his trance.

"Are you listening mate?" Sirius asked, obviously irritated.

"Uh huh," James replied, his voice distant.

"Oh yeah? What did I just say then?"

"You...were talking about Madam Rosmerta ogling you when you went to get this week's supplies," James replied with a triumphant smile.

"Merlin Prongs! That was last night. But yeah, she couldn't keep her eyes off my devilishly handsome face," Sirius said with a smirk.

James rolled his eyes at that. He returned to his potatoes as his thoughts wandered again. He suddenly felt a cold breath on the back of his neck. He freaked out and spun around on his seat to see a snowman standing right behind him. He stared at it, dumbstruck. It suddenly lunged forward and hugged James tightly, pushing him on Peter who was on his left. Everyone was watching now and slowly the whole great hall (especially the Slytherins) erupted in laughter. James couldn't breathe. All he could hear was Lily's loud and clear laugh. The snowman held him for a good sixty seconds before letting go and vanishing with a "Poof!" The sudden disappearance of the snowman made James fall down. His sweater was wet and he was shivering from the cold.

"Padfoot! That. Was. Not. Cool." he said crossly, his teeth chattering as he picked himself up.

"I swear, Prongs. It was not me," Sirius said between laughs. He was on Remus, who was almost on the floor. Remus got a grip on himself, shoved Sirius away (who fell on the floor with a loud thud, clutching his stomach) and cast a heating charm on James, who gave him a look of gratitude.

The laughter in the Hall slowly died down after a couple of minutes.

"I know it was you Padfoot. We all know it was you," James said, still slightly shivering.

"I want to say yes-because that was hilarious-but no. Here, ask Remus. He can vouch for me. We were debating about the Goblin wars. You would have known if you had been listening to me earlier instead of gawking at-"

"Okay! I believe you," James said, panicking slightly. Man, Sirius was really insensitive sometimes. He looked at Lily through his peripherals, hoping she hadn't heard. Sirius, Remus and Peter were sniggering.

"I wonder who did it though," Remus said.

"It could be one of the Slytherins," Peter said.

"Slytherins? This was a harmless prank. They would only go for bloody…ones," Sirius said as he noticed a certain red head grinning evilly at a certain messy haired, hazel eyed, bespectacled best friend of his.

"Or maybe it WAS you, Sirius," James said crossly.

"Don't worry my mate!" Sirius said, ignoring James and clapping him on the back. "We shall find out who set a snowman on you and we shall punish him—or her—greatly!"

"What...you think it was a girl?" Peter asked.

"We must consider all possibilities, Wormy. All possibilities."

Remus rolled his eyes at these imbeciles he called friends. He checked his watch and realized they had only few minutes left before class started. "Can we discuss this later? We've a class that starts in five minutes."

* * *

The Gryffindors had double potions first with the Slytherins. Lily and her best friends, Alice Anderson, Mary McDonald and Erica Cole made their way to the dungeons laughing at the "snowman incident" that breakfast. They sat in their usual places at the front. Slowly, the room filled up.

"Good morning class," Professor Slughorn walked in with his big belly jiggling and a smile plastered to his face. "How are you all today? A fine day for potion brewing don't you think?" Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that. Every day was a fine day to brew potions for Slughorn. "So how about a test today?"

The whole class groaned. Nobody liked a test in the very first hour of the day. Except maybe Lily. She was excited.

"All of you," Slughorn continued, ignoring the protests, "will brew Elixir to induce Euphoria. And it has to be a perfect sunshine yellow. The first one to brew the potion correctly shall be rewarded with a little something. A little bit of luck. Felix Felicis," He said, his eyes gleaming and smiling widely.

This was the cause for Lily's excitement. She immediately began to set up her cauldron and collect all the necessary ingredients.

"Psst. Lily!" Mary whispered from behind her about half an hour later.

"What?"

"Sshh! Why are you so loud? Are you trying to get me caught? Anyway, what do I do after adding the shrivelfigg? Should I stir clockwise or add the wormwood?"

"Neither. Add the porcupine quills," Lily said.

"Okay. Thanks! I owe you one."

Lily smirked and waited for a minute and BOOM! Mary's potion exploded and was now splattered all over her. Lily turned around to look at her and joined in the laughter. Mary was covered in green goo and she was scowling at Lily for telling her the wrong ingredient. Slughorn walked over and tutted at the sight. With a wave of his wand, he cleared up the place and asked Mary to stop as he didn't want anymore "explosions".

About three quarters of an hour later, Lily was madly gleaming at her potion. She was almost done. Her potion was now a midnight blue. She just had to add her last ingredient - Castor beans and two clockwise stirs. And lo! A perfect sunshine yellow. She immediately bottled up a small quantity and presented it to Slughorn.

"Ah. Impressive, my dear. Very impressive. Didn't expect any less from you," He beamed at his favorite student. He handed over a small vial. It was a beautiful molten gold. Lily smiled and accepted it gracefully while Mary threw her dirty looks from across the room.

* * *

Soon it was dinner time and everyone was stuffing themselves. Lily and her friends were admiring the vial filled with luck.

"It looks amazing," an excited Alice said.

"I don't know what I could use it for though."

"Oh Lily, you're just so good at everything. I don't think you'll ever need it. On the other hand, your best friend-namely me-who just manages to get an A in her tests could definitely do with a bit of luck," Erica said, batting her eyelashes.

"Hey! If anyone should get it, it should be me. I'll forgive you your betrayal if you give me that potion," Mary huffed.

Lily laughed. "Mary, you were trying to cheat!"

"Aw, come on don't be such a goody two shoes," Mary was now pouting.

"I can't help it. That's who I am," Lily replied with a smug smile.

"So when's the next the next 'Attack'?" Erica asked, grinning at Lily.

"Attack?" Sirius interrupted from behind them."Oh Lily flower! If someone plans to attack you, I shall don my cape and come to your rescue! Don't you worry m'lady."

"The only thing we've got to worry about is your endless speeches about how every girl in the castle secretly wants you," Erica said with a smirk. Alice and Mary giggled and Lily was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Aw, don't be like that. Although that IS true, you know," He replied, feigning hurt which quickly turned into a smirk. Erica rolled her eyes. "That is a pretty little vial you've got there Evans."

"What do you want Sirius?" Erica asked with an exasperated sigh while Lily held her vial protectively.

"Jeez can't a guy hang out with his friends without wanting something?" Erica narrowed her eyes at that. "What? You don't trust me? No? Well, can't blame a guy for trying," and with a wink at her, he walked away.

"What was all that about?" Alice asked, shaking her head as Mary piled treacle tarts on hers and Lily's plates. Those two could live on them!

"I don't know. But he's definitely up to something," Erica said, narrowing her eyes and staring after him.

"Or...Sirius is just being Sirius," Lily said looking at Erica with a slight smile. "You exaggerate everything when it comes to him."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do. Just like Slughorn does when it comes to Lily," Alice said smirking at Lily. Mary nodded in agreement, her mouth full of dessert.

"He doesn't exaggerate about me! He just knows pure brilliance when he sees it," Lily huffed as she bit into a treacle tart.

Soon the topic turned to how much Slughorn adores Lily and they pointlessly argued about it throughout dinner and even on the way back to the Gryffindor tower. But they were interrupted just as they were about to enter through the portrait hole by someone calling out Lily's name. Lily turned around and saw James sprinting towards them.

"Hey Lily," James smiled as he finally caught up. "Ready for patrols?"

"I completely forgot! I'm coming now," she turned to her friends and said, "I'll see you guys later." Her friends nodded and waved her good-bye before disappearing through the portrait hole. Lily joined James as they set off into the fire lit corridor to start their patrols.

* * *

**A/N**: So there ya go! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Whaddya think? Let me know! If I get a good response - I'm praying I will - I shall upload the next chapter immediately! It's ready. So are 4 more chapters. Don't forget to tell me your thoughts so I can do a better job next time and provide you with something better. Please review!  
Reviews=motivations :)


	2. Snowfalls, Memories and Blackmail

**Lucky Christmases and Long Gone Animosities.**

**A/N:** Hello :) The second chapter is here! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. And here's a big Thank you to lightningscarpotter, AnonymouslyWrittenn, alicenotinwonderland and .Mars.x for your wonderful reviews! :) And alicenotinwonderland, I hope I've done a better job here! :) Oh I also thank lightningscarpotter for being my beta.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Snowfalls, Memories and Blackmail.**

Lily was up early even though it was a Saturday. She was a morning person. She quickly showered and picked out an old blue jeans, a purple sweater and a black scarf her grandmother had given her for her sixteenth birthday. She brushed her red hair and looked in the mirror. Liking what she saw, she headed out for a walk.

It was almost Christmas and they had two weeks left for vacation. The castle looked lovely at this time of the year and Lily loved walking through its corridors. She loved the little fairies that danced around the Christmas trees, with their golden hair and silver wings. At a glance, one might mistake a fairy for a snitch.

"Deck the halls-" began a suit of armor as Lily passed it. She jumped out of her skin and nearly bumped into another suit.

"Drat!" She cursed and looked around frantically to make sure no one had seen her little "mishap". She then made her way to the castle doors quietly humming "Deck the halls".

A cold breeze blew past her as she stepped out of the castle. She took in a deep breath before proceeding. The fresh air burned her throat. A thick blanket of fresh snow-covered the castle grounds. Lily liked the way the snow crunched under her boots. As she walked, she realized this would be her last Christmas at Hogwarts. No more coming back. No more walking down the stone hallways of the castle with its many secrets and age-old wisdom. No more going to Diagon Alley to buy robes and books. No more rushing to platform nine and three Quarters eagerly to meet Alice, Mary and Erica. No more riding the scarlet Hogwarts Express and discussing about the year to come. No more Sorting ceremonies to watch. No more doing homeworks by the warm fire, sipping the butterbeer the Marauders sneak in. No more Halloween feasts. Lily was almost near tears now. She still remembered the days at Hogwarts before her first year Christmas vacation like it was yesterday.

_"Tell me more about Hogsmeade, Erica! What else did your brother tell you?" A first year Lily asked, very excitedly. She and Erica were on the castle grounds building their snowman on a cold Saturday afternoon. Alice was in the hospital wing as she was sick and Mary had a charms essay to finish._

_"He told me there's a joke shop called Zonko's where they sell wonderful jokes and treats that fulfill every student's wildest dreams. He also told me about a tea shop. Madam Puddifoot's, I reckon. He said he never goes there if he can avoid it. The place has lacy napkins and China sugar bowls. And on Valentine's day, Cherubs hover above the people and occasionally throw pink confetti all over them," Erica said, just as excited. Their snowman was almost done now. Lily bent down to scoop up some more snow._  
_"Oh that sounds lovely, Erica! I can't wait to be in third ye-AAH!" Lily screamed as her snowman collapsed on her. She brushed the snow off her face and scowled when she saw James and Sirius laughing at her. Lily was seething with anger._  
_"That's your Christmas present, Evans," James said, as he and Sirius walked back to the castle laughing all the way._

Now, there was no more of that obnoxious Potter either. She smiled as her stomach did a familiar lurch, the way it always did nowadays whenever she thought of him. Well, to be fair, obnoxious Potter was not to be seen since the end their sixth year.

They even had had a fifteen minutes civil conversation in the train on the way back. But Lily didn't think it would last through the summer. She had silently hoped it would because the new James was a lot less of a toe-rag and actually a nice person to talk to.

At the start of the year, Lily had walked into the prefects compartments fully excepting Remus to be the Head Boy. She was shocked out of her mind when she found James wearing the Head Boy badge. And all he did when he saw her was smile and say hi. No gloating. No obnoxious behavior. Not even a Will-You-Go-Out-With-Me. Lily was shocked out of her mind. Again.

She still couldn't help wondering what had come over him. Whatever it was, Lily was very glad. As days turned into weeks into months, Lily couldn't help fall for him. She fancied him. She fancied James Potter. If the fifth year Lily caught her saying this – Whoa! She didn't want to know. She quietly laughed to herself.

She was pulled back into present by a broom stick that zoomed past her, avoiding her just in time. She stumbled and with arms flailing, she fell on her back.

"Hey! Are you alright?" She heard someone say. Too shocked to reply she just nodded. She had been so lost in thoughts; she didn't realize she had entered the Quidditch pitch. She looked up and met a pair of concerned grey ones hovering above.

"What are you doing here?" a wild haired Sirius asked as he helped her to her feet.

"It's seven in the morning! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep. So I just came out to get some air."

"And knocked it out of me!"

Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh as they made their way to the castle. "Well, it was your fault. You should have seen where you were going."

Lily's eyebrows knit and her mouth was a perfect 'O'. "You were the one in mid-air. You should have seen me coming and moved out of the way!"

"Whoa! Calm down will ya? No one's hurt and that's what matters." Yeah if you don't consider the increasing pain in my butt! Lily thought. But she wasn't going to tell Sirius that.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I told you. I couldn't sleep."

Lily snorted."Yeah right. Something's bothering you isn't it?"

"What? No. I honestly co-"

"Sirius, I see you sleep like a log throughout all the classes, except maybe McGonagall's, and go to bed early and still be late the next day because you overslept."

"So you notice me eh? I didn't know you had secret desires for me Evans," Sirius said with his signature smirk.

"Oh grow up!" Lily rolled her eyes but found the corners of her mouth twitching ever so slightly.

"So…" Lily began after a couple of minutes. "What is it? Bothering you, I mean."

Sirius sighed. She looked up at him. For a brief second she thought she saw sorrow in his eyes but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Nothing that would really interest you, Evans."

"Why don't you try me? I could be of some help."

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned to look at her and shook her shoulders, rather violently. "You are a genius, Evans," He was grinning like a maniac. If Lily thought she saw any sorrow in his eyes earlier, she might have as well imagined it as there were absolutely no traces of it now. "This is brilliant!"

"What...what is brilliant exactly?" Lily asked, trying and failing to understand.

"Remember that Felix Felicis of yours? Give it to me!"

"WHY would I even dream of giving that to you?" Lily asked, appalled.

As Sirius started to speak, the expression in his eyes spelling "mischief managed", Lily could only gape at him in horror.

* * *

**A/N: **If reviewing tickles your fancy, please do so! I would love to know what you think. :)


	3. Tarts, Quidditch and Christmas Balls

**Lucky Christmases and Long Gone Animosities**

**A/N:** Hello! The third chapter is FINALLY here. It took me so many tries to get it right. I'd a completely different plan in mind but there were some problems with it so I had to change so many things! Anyway, this is what I ended up with. I really hope you like it! By the way, the first chapter? I've rewritten it and added in some extra bits just to make it less abrupt. Read it if you haven't already! And please review :)

A big thank you to all those reviewed. And also thanks to those who added my story to their favs and for the alerts. I hope you like this :) Thanks to lightningscarpotter for being my beta!

**Disclaimer: **Nope. I'm not JK Rowling. Although I wish I was.

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Tarts, Quidditch and Christmas Balls.**

"I want the last treacle tart!" Lily exclaimed, as Mary wrestled her for it. They were at the great hall for lunch, sitting near the Marauders. James looked at Lily, amusement evident in his eyes. He always knew that Lily had an unhealthy obsession with treacle tarts and he loved to watch her fight for it.

"You can take mine," James smiled and offered her his tart when Mary won the fight and Lily sat pouting. A brilliant smile spread across her features as she held out her hand to take it. It made James dizzy and he had to hold on to the table to not fall off. He shook his head and smiled at how she could still get him with just a smile.

"Shall we head for practice, then?" Sirius asked the Gryffindor Quidditch team as he finished his lunch and got up, his broom in his hand. They nodded and murmured in agreement as they got up. Sirius prodded James (who was staring at Lily) in the back with his broomstick, "Hey, Captain? Ready?" James nodded and followed Sirius out of the castle. He turned around for a quick look at Lily before leaving.

Erica and Mary had started trying to talk her into watching them while they practiced. He prayed she would agree.

"Come on, Lily. Mary and I will be at the pitch, Alice in the library with Frank, you'll be alone," Erica said.

"You don't have any homework to do either. Even Remus won't be there," Mary said.

She _didn't_ have any homework to do and Remus was in the hospital wing with a terrible headache. Lily sighed. The girls had a point. "Okay. You guys go ahead. I'll grab a book and join you in a few minutes." She waved at them and ran up the marble staircase to the Gryffindor tower.

Once she collected her book and came to the Quidditch Pitch, Lily found herself a very nice spot in the Gryffindor stands and sat down to read her book. Frequently her eyes wandered toward James. She tried very hard to concentrate on her book but she just couldn't keep her eyes off him. Finally, with a frustrated sigh she gave up. She closed her book and decided to watch them play. She looked at James fly. He was amazing on a broom. Lily had always admitted that, albeit grudgingly. He belonged up there. Even a muggle might not have found him out of place in the sky. Lily listened to him as he barked orders to his team, his voice so authoritative yet so gentle.

As she saw James effortlessly dive to catch the Quaffle, she wondered what it would be like to fly with him, but Lily was not the one for flying. She would be scared out her mind. She saw as he flew with total ease and threw the Quaffle into the hoop like it was a piece of cake. As he flew towards the other side of the pitch, he looked at Lily and smiled and waved. Lily returned his smile and waved back as her stomach felt squirmy again. She shook her head at how she was smitten by him.

Lily wrapped her Gryffindor scarf more tightly around her neck when it became colder. Deciding to give her book another try, she picked it up and started to read. She was finally engrossed in the book and she didn't realize time fly by. She was almost done with it when she looked up to find out that the practice was done and they were heading for the locker rooms. She closed her book and made her way to them.

"…At this rate, the Slytherin match will be a cakewalk. Great job, everyone."

Lily was just in time to hear the last of James' speech as they all disappeared into the locker rooms. She waited for her friends outside until came out, hair wet from the shower.

"I can't wait to beat those Slytherins," Erica said as Mary nodded in agreement.

"Hi, Lily," Mary smiled at her as she spotted her sitting out. "You should have come in. It's bloody cold out here."

"Nah, it's alright," Lily smiled back as the rest of the team came out. They walked back to the castle with the snow crunching under their boots and often a snowball flew through the air. James and Sirius were already out of sight, probably inside the castle by now.

As they entered the castle, Lily felt a light tug on her elbow. She turned around to see James behind her. He asked her to follow him, saying it was something about Head business. Wondering what it was, she followed him into the empty Great Hall. She saw McGonagall sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans," she nodded at them and motioned them to sit across her. They sat down next to each other on the opposite side.

"What is it, Professor?" Lily asked. She looked worried at the grim expression on her professor's face.

"Nothing to worry about, Ms. Evans," She smiled at the pair, creases forming around her eyes. "I want to ask the both of you a favor."

"Certainly, Professor," James said.

McGonagall looked at him a moment before answering. The arrogant, conceited little boy she'd known him to be was now a responsible Head Boy. And might have even won the heart of Lily Evans. She smiled at him fondly.

"I know this is short notice but I would like the two of you to organize a Christmas ball," she said, "A little something to relieve the tension." She grew slightly grim at the last part. It was dark times. Voldemort was growing stronger every single second of the day as more and more wizards and witches joined him. There was news of deaths every day and everyone was worried and stressed out.

"That is a great idea, Professor," Lily said. "When do you think we could have it?"

"I was thinking the Saturday before your vacation starts."

"Sounds perfect. Consider it done, Professor," James said as he grinned at her.

"Well, off you go then," she said as she returned his smile.

"A ball? She wants us to organize a ball in two weeks?" Lily said, slightly hysterical as the duo made their way to the Gryffindor common room. "Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but in two weeks? There's so much to do! We've to first notify everyone, then think of ideas for some games—if we're going to have any-decorate the Great Hall, find partners, find a band, decide on food, decide what robes to wear, make sure everything's on time. Oh no, we don't even have a Hogsmeade trip this Saturday! Where are we going to buy all the necessary-" she was cut off as James placed a finger on her lips, taking a step towards her. She could now smell his familiar sandal scented soap.

"Sssh. Everything's going to be fine. We've got two bloody weeks! We've been through OWLs. This should be nothing," James said in a reassuring tone, his finger still on her lips. He looked into her lovely green eyes as he spoke. "And about Hogsmeade? Don't worry, love. We'll sort it out." He smirked at her as she smiled slowly against his finger. Of course! Why didn't she think of it before? They could just sneak into Hogsmeade. And she loved how he called her 'Love'.

"Yeah, you're right. We've been through OWLs. This should be nothing," Lily said as he removed his finger and they continued walking.

"I'm always right," He winked at her and smiled his most charming smile. It made Lily wonder in surprise at how she still hadn't melted into a sticky puddle of goo.

"Weetimorbeastie," James said as they reached the portrait of the Fat lady.

"You're almost correct. Try again," the Fat lady said, trying and failing to hide her smug look. Lily laughed as James muttered something about ridiculous passwords.

"Weetimorousbeastie," Lily said, controlling herself and the Fat lady swung forward.

They crawled through the portrait hole and walked up to their friends who were sitting in front of the fire place. Remus was on one end of the couch reading a book and Sirius leaned against the other arm, lazily flicking rolled up pieces of paper at Remus. Peter was asleep on his charms essay. Mary, Alice and Erica were on the floor playing exploding snap.

"Hey guys," Lily said as she sat down beside Erica.

"Hello, Lily," they said, without looking at her.

"How are you feeling now, Remus?"

"I'm a lot better. Thanks Lily," he smiled at her.

"Where've you two love birds been to?" Sirius asked, still flicking paper at Remus.

"We're not love birds!" Lily blushed furiously. Alice giggled as Erica and Mary smirked while Remus just raised an eyebrow.

"McGonagall wanted to have a word with us," James said. "We're to organize a Christmas ball the Saturday before our vacations."

"A ball?" Alice and Mary squealed while Erica looked too excited to speak. Sirius groaned.

"That's wonderful!" Alice said.

"Oh I can't wait!" Mary said clapping her hands.

The girls soon abandoned their game and started to discuss dress robes, oblivious to the world outside. James rolled his eyes at them and stated that he was going away from this madness to keep his broom in his dormitory.

"Whom will you ask, Moony?" Sirius asked a couple of minutes later, in a soft tone so only they could hear.

"Uh? Oh, I don't know. I doubt anyone would want to go with me," he said looking up from his book.

"You could ask Mary. She seems to like you. And you obviously fancy her."

Remus turned a violent red, "I do not! She's just…sweet. What about you?"

"Oh you know, I could…What's taking James so long? Shouldn't he be here by now?"

"He's not gone a minute! Don't try to change the subject."

"Yes he has! He's gone at least five minutes! I'm going to check up on him."

Sirius ran up the boys' staircase before Remus could answer.

How would he ask her? Sirius wondered. They were on pretty good terms. Sometimes they fought but it was never like James and Lily. But what if she said no? Pssh. He was Sirius-Devilishly Handsome-Black. The thought of being rejected seemed so preposterous, he quickly dismissed it. With a happier frame of mind, he climbed the last step and entered his dorm.

"Prongs, what's taking you…" he stopped in his tracks and his voice trailed off as he looked at his best mate with wide eyes and mouth moving to form a big O.

* * *

**A/N:** Tada! What did you think? I hope this was fine. Like I said, I'd loads of trouble with it. I promise you a better chapter next time. Maybe some fluff ;)

Anyway, any ideas what could have happened to James? :D If you do, tell me about it! :D Please review!


	4. Dandelions, Almonds and Allergies

**Lucky Christmases And Long Gone Animosities.**

**A/N: **FINALLY. I finally got the time to write this chapter. It was ready and was just sitting on my comp to be edited. I was just so busy with school work and didn't have time but here it is! Finally. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. And a big thanks to all the people who reviewed, favorited and put this story on alerts And also thanks to lightningscarpotter for being my beta! :)  
It has been long so hope you still remember the story! I shall recap, yeah? :)  
**Recap **– It's breakfast on a Friday morning and a mysterious snowman appears out of nowhere and hugs James who is lost in thoughts of Lily. He cleans up and attends Potions along with the rest of the Gryffindors where Slughorn sets a test. Lily aces it and wins the promised Felix Felicis. The next morning, she goes for a walk and bumps into Sirius at the Quidditch pitch. Lily finds him to be a little upset. As their conversation progresses, Lily offers to help him out. But when he says that she'd have to give him her Felix Felicis, Lily tries to back out. But she can't as Sirius has something against her. After lunch, Lily joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team as they practice. As they walk to the castle after practice, McGonagall calls out James and Lily and requests them to host a Christmas Ball. They walk back to their common room and the girls start to discuss dress robes as James goes up to his room to put his broomstick back.  
Yup! That's it. Hope you remembered now. Read on! :)

**Oh and Disclaimer **- HAHAAH. Nope.

* * *

**Dandelions, Almonds and Allergies.**

"Aaah! No no no! This can't be happening! Please please no no no!" James muttered to himself, looking at his bedside mirror. There was a box of chocolates on his bed and a lone golden wrapper at its foot. A piece of parchment rested beside the chocolates.

"Prongs? What's taking you…" Sirius entered the dorm and as he saw James, his eyes widened and mouth moved to form a big O. James looked at him, with an expression that screamed help.

"Prongsie, you look ugly!" Sirius said, staring at his best friend's face as he sat cross-legged on his bed facing James, "Hey! That rhymed. Maybe I could become a poet!"

"Can your poet fantasies wait? I've a crisis going on here!" James' face was now swollen to a great extent and it was getting hard for him to breathe. His cheeks were red with rashes. And he was panicking. And Sirius was no help.

"What is go-BLOODY HELL! Prongs, what in name the name of Merlin's crooked nose is wrong with your face?" Remus stopped in his tracks and Peter, who was right behind him, bumped into him. And as his watery eyes fell on James, it went as wide as saucers. Remus made his way to Sirius' bed and sat next to him. James was staring at the mirror by his bed and tears fell down his face as he looked at his reflection.

"What happened Prongs?" Remus asked.

James heaved a sigh and started to recount the events that lead to this situation.

_James entered his dorm after the girls started to discuss dress robes. He walked to his bed and bent down to put his broomstick underneath it. He stopped when he found a parcel wrapped in brown paper on his bed. Curious and excited about a early present, he opened it and found a box of chocolates and a note that said 'To James'. He stared at the note for a couple of minutes but he couldn't recognize the handwriting. He shrugged, it was a box of chocolates after all, and unwrapped a chocolate covered in gold foil. He popped it into his-_

"Wait. You're actually telling me you found a box of chocolates from someone you don't know and you just ate it?" Remus asked, incredulously.

"It's free chocolates, Moony!" Sirius said, waving his hands while James nodded furiously.

"It could have been laced with poison! Or worse…love potion," Remus said. At the mention of 'Love potion' there were three sharp intakes of breaths.

"In this case, almonds," Peter said as Sirius stared at James, his eyes full of sympathy. Poor Prongs. He looked like his Great Aunt Licorice when she'd had a bad case of dragon pox.

"What happened next?" Remus asked.

_He put his broom back in its place and quickly popped in three more. He started to walk back to the stairs when he felt something in his mouth apart from chocolate. He spat it out into his hands and looked at it curiously. When realization dawned on him, he started to panic and searched for his wand in his robes with trembling hands. He finally found it and held on to it with some relief. But he didn't know any spells that could cure allergies. He started to panic again. He felt his face slowly with his still trembling hands. It had already started to swell. He walked back to his bed and looked at the mirror horrified._

"And that's when I entered," Sirius said, pointing to himself as James gave a slight nod.

"We better go to the Hospital wing before it gets any worse," Remus said, patting James on the back.

"I'm not going anywhere like this! No ways in hell!" James said, completely horrified at the thought. "You've to help me, Moony! I'm sure you know some spell."

"Sorry , James," Remus shook his head, trying very hard to hide a smirk.

"Come on, Moony! Rack that furry little brain of yours. I'm sure there's something!"

"Sorry, mate. Looks like I've let you down," Remus grabbed James' arm and dragged him to the door. Sirius pushed him from behind and Peter held onto his arms as he protested.

Halfway down the stairs, "I should've got my cloak!" James squealed amidst his protests and mentally cursed himself for not thinking of it before.

"Sorry, mate. You should have thought of it earlier," Sirius said as he pushed him down the last step and into the common room. Fortunately for James, it was almost empty except for four girls near the fireplace. And one of them started to turn around. James stared at her red hair and looked at her green eyes. They were ever so beautiful and he went into a trance. He started at her as her lips slowly started to curl. She was smiling at him. And he was liking it very much. Her smile slowly turned into peals of laughter. He lost himself in its sweet sound. He tried to smile back at her. But his face just wouldn't stretch. He tried again, harder this time. But nothing happened. He wondered what was wrong as he felt his face with his palms. It was all swollen and pudgy. That was not how his face usually felt. It usually felt nice and smooth, thanks to that moisturizer Sirius had lent…HOLY MERLIN! He broke out of his trance and started to panic. Lily and her friends were now laughing so hard. He turned around and noticed that his friends had followed suit. Some friends they were! He grabbed a laughing Sirius by the collar and dragged him out the portrait. Sirius turned around and winked at Lily before leaving. Remus and Peter got a hold on themselves and followed James and Sirius out the portrait.

"Oh, Lily. That was wicked!" Mary said in between laughs.

"Did you see the way he was trying to smile at you?" Alice asked and went into another fit of laughter as she remembered.

"Okay, guys. We should stop, " Lily said, regaining control of herself.

"Yeah, you're right," Erica said trying very hard not to laugh. "But his face!" She went into another fit of laughter and Alice and Mary joined her. But as Lily remembered his face she remembered the days leading up to their second year Christmas.

_Lily awoke very early one cold, snowy, Monday morning. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. It was still five thirty. She placed her clock back on the table when she remembered that they were supposed to brew the Hair Raising potion that day. Excitement started to fill her insides. She had been looking forward to this class for a long time now. Potions was one of her best subjects. They had potions with Slytherins and Severus and she had a lot of fun together. He would teach her some of the tactics and she would help him with spells. They were a great team. She smiled at all the fun they could have that day and quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get ready._

"_Slow down, Lily!" Erica said as Lily bounded down the stairs and ran to her seat at the Gryffindor table._

"_Lily!" Alice scolded her as she stuffed an entire toast into her mouth her,0 "Eating your breakfast fast is not going to make Slughorn start classes early!"_

"_I wish he'd never start it today," Mary groaned and slumped her head on the table._

"_Hey there, Evans."_

"_Go away, Potter," she said mouth full of toast and butter. She was not going to let him ruin her day._

"_But I just got here!" he whined._

_Lily groaned and looked at him, "What do you want?"_

"_To give you this," he held out a bunch of Tulips right under her nose. "I know you like them." Lily was taken aback. She looked at James, the Tulips and James again, her eyes growing narrow._

"_What is this, Potter?"_

"_Why, it's a bunch of flowers, Lilykins."_

_Lily's eyes were tiny slits now._

"_Jeez I'm just a bloke giving his friend a Christmas present."_

"_Why do I have trouble believing that? And since when are we friends?"_

_James took a step back and clutched his heart, his mouth open in mock shock. Lily rolled her eyes at the drama. He slowly turned around and started to walk away. He made his way to a Hufflepuff who was eyeing him, put on his best smile and offered her the flowers. She accepted them with a giggle. Lily rolled her eyes at him again and she returned to her toast, getting rid of an itch on her nose._

* * *

_Lily and Severus peered into their cauldron, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads as they waited for their potion to turn into a bright orange._

"_It'll take at least five minutes more," Severus said._

"_Why don't you cut the rat tails while I clean up the Puffer fish eyes?" Lily suggested as she itched her face furiously._

"_Lily, are you alright?" Sev asked._

"_Huh?" she looked up from the cauldron, her voice turning hoarse._

"_Lily, what's wrong with your face? Why is it covered in rashes?" Sev lightly touched her face with his finger._

"_Ms. Evans? Is everything alright?" Slughorn came over with a slightly worried look on his face. The entire class turned to look at her._

"_Yes, Professor," her voice was completely hoarse now. She cleared her throat repeatedly but it didn't help her any._

"_Are you sure you're not allergic to any of the ingredients?" Slughorn asked her and there were a few sniggers from James' table._

"_No, Professor. The only thing…Dandelions!" she rounded on James and screamed, "POTTER!" He must have hidden the Dandelions amidst those Tulips he'd offered her that morning. Though Lily hadn't accepted those Tulips she'd been exposed to it long enough. James put on an innocent face that fooled nobody. She was seething with anger as she felt Sev drag her out of the class and into the Hospital wing where she spent the rest of the Potions class swearing and cursing.  
_

"Lily, how about some Exploding snap?" Erica asked her and she was pulled back into the present. She nodded and with a slight smile on her face she joined the others, wondering how James would react to the gifts she had lined up for him.

* * *

**A/N**: Soooo ? How was it? Good? Bad? Ugly? Hit the review button and let me know! :)

I know I promised some fluff in this chapter. Sorry about that! I'll try next time. Please review! :)


	5. Beards, Tickles and Reindeers

**Lucky Christmases and Long Gone Animosities.**

**A/N:** Hello :) I know it's been too long. But I've been caught up in school work. And I'm extremely sorry for the late update! I shall try and update faster next time. Once again, thanks to all those reviewed/put my story on alerts/favorited it. I hope you guys like this too :) And I would like to thank lightningscarpotter for taking time off to beta my story :) Although I think you did it only as an excuse to not do your caed assignment :P But thanks anyway :)

**Disclaimer:** No ways :D

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Beards, Tickles and Reindeers.**

"Creo Barba!" Lily nearly screamed out of frustration as she pointed her wand at herself, doing a complicated sort of wiggle and loops. She slowly lifted her palms and felt her cheeks, only to let out an exasperated sigh a second later. Her cheeks were smooth and soft and had no prickly beard as she'd hoped.

Lily was sitting by the frozen lake under a snow covered Willow tree. A gust of cold December air blew. She shivered and wrapped her scarf more tightly around her neck to keep herself warm. The grounds were empty as everyone was inside the castle warming up beside the fireplace. But winter was one of Lily's favorite seasons and this being her last at Hogwarts, she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. No, it was not because this was the only place where no one would see her. And no, it was most certainly not because she was trying very hard to learn an embarrassing transfiguration spell that makes you grow a beard and didn't want anyone to see her with one.

But Lily hadn't gotten too far in spite of having been at it for what felt like hours. She hated transfiguration. No, hate was too strong a word. She disliked transfiguration. There, much better. She actually liked the concept of turning things into other things. But it was too hard to do so. Hence, the hatred. Transfiguration was also probably the only subject where James fared better than she did. Maybe she could ask him to help her out! Why hadn't she thought of that before? Oh, wait. She did not want to look like a bear and embarrass herself in front of him.

But James was undoubtedly good at transfiguration, without really trying, even! Maybe she should ask his help... Speaking of James, now that Sirius knew, executing her plan would be a lot easier. But she had to pay with her Felix Felicis. Her FELIX FELICIS! And she wasn't particularly happy about it. She could say no to Sirius' help, but he said he would run around the castle screaming "Lily Evans, Head Girl, has finally succumbed to the irresistible charms of James Potter, Head Boy, and best friend of the devilishly handsome Sirius Black." Those were his exact words. And if Sirius Black says he's going to do something, he's going to go right ahead and do it. He was a freakin' Marauder for Heaven's sake! Lily shivered as she realized she didn't really have much of a choice.

"Hey, you."

Lily jumped at the sound of James' voice that suddenly interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Hi," she exhaled, relief obvious in her voice. "You scared me," and she laughed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to," James smiled as he muttered a spell and cleared up some of the snow beside her and plopped down next to her. He put his broom next to him.

"Quidditch?" Lily asked, eying the broom.

"No, not really. So what have you got there?" His sudden change of topic made Lily wonder if he was up to something mischievous. But there was no telling. He was a Marauder after all.

She looked at him a brief second before replying, "Transfiguration," She scrunched up her nose in irritation, which made James laugh. "Why are you laughing?" Lily asked, slightly offended. He had no right to laugh at her terrible hand at transfiguration because he was good at it.

"You just look cute when you do that," James said, looking into her eyes. He smiled his lopsided grin that made Lily's stomach want to fly away. She could feel her cheeks turning pink suddenly. No, it was not because of James. It was the extreme December cold. Okay, she decided, she just had to play it cool.

"Why, thank you," she said, her voice strangely high and girly. Darn! So much for playing it cool. She could feel herself blush even more violently. She cleared her throat and immediately looked down at her book to hide her embarrassment.

"You want some help with that?" James asked in a gentle tone. Lily looked up at him and was extremely grateful for the change of subject.

"Thank Merlin, yes. I've been at it for hours and I'm nowhere close to getting it right than I was when I began."

"Why don't you show me what you can do?"

"Well…" she began as she realized why she was studying out here instead of the warm confinements of the castle. She couldn't show him what she could do! Not that she could do anything. But that was beside the point.

"Well?" James looked at her, expecting her to go on. Lily bit her lower lip as she started to contemplate. On one hand, she could finally learn the spell and go back into the warm Gryffindor tower. On the other, she'd embarrass herself in front of the boy she loved. She hesitated a bit before nodding her head.

"Okay," Lily inhaled deeply and pointed her wand at herself and, starting the wand motion, muttered, "Creo Barba." Just as she expected, nothing happened.

"Hmm…you seem to be doing an extra loop," He pointed his wand at himself and a "Creo Barba" later, James had grown a thick black beard. "Did you see that?" Lily giggled at the sight and nodded. "You find that funny? Yeah? Well, let's see how you will find it funny when you are being tickled," He moved closer to Lily and began to tickle her as she started to giggle uncontrollably.

"Stop it James!" Lily squealed as he tickled her harder. Her eyes started to tear up and James didn't seem to hear her. Lily grabbed some snow and whack! It hit James squarely in the face and everything went quiet at once. James stared at Lily through his fogged up glasses and with a bit of snow on his hair and eyelashes. Lily stared right back at him. The silence was deafening. A giggle then escaped Lily's slightly chapped lips and she immediately cupped her hands over her mouth. James started to smile which then turned into a laugh which then turned into an uncontrollable laugh. His laugh was so infectious, Lily couldn't help but join him. James' beard came in contact with Lily's cheek and she laughed harder as it tickled her. A couple of minutes later she tugged at his beard to let him know that they needed to get on with the spell. He understood as he nodded and took in several deep breaths to stop himself from laughing. Lily did the same. It took them took a couple of more minutes before they could completely control themselves. When they did, James cleared his throat and muttered the counter-spell and got rid of his beard. "So? Would you like to give it a try then?" he asked Lily who had finally got a grip on herself.

Lily tried (and failed miserably) to imitate James' hand movements. Her face just stubbornly refused to grow any hair. If anything, it had become more feminine. Lily groaned.

"Ugh. Why does this spell even exist? It's not like anyone would want to grow a beard. Especially a girl," she slumped and pouted.

"Maybe. But that reminds me, I've been working on a spell to transfigure humans into reindeers," James said, excitement bubbling in his voice. "Can I try it on you? Please?"

"Absolutely not!" Lily cried out.

"Why not?" James whined.

"I do not want to turn into a reindeer! And you said you've been working on it, which means you are not perfect yet. For all we know, I could get stuck with antlers and a tail!" Lily said, as she waved her hands.

"Wha-Not perfect?" James laughed, "You do realize you're talking to THE James Potter?"

"Yes. Yes I do," Lily said, "Now, can we please get on with the spell?"

James slumped, "Okay. But it's a little tricky. So let me show you how to do it. Give me your hand," saying so James grabbed Lily's hand before she even had the time to respond. She started to feel light headed. She could feel her cheeks turn redder by the minute. She found it very hard to concentrate as James guided her very slowly, pausing after each move to make sure she understood.

"There you go. Can you do it now?" James asked as he released her hand. Lily nodded, her hand tingling from his touch.

"Creo Barba," she muttered, her hand slightly shivering, partly due to the cold and partly due to James' touch. But nothing happened. She drew in a deep breath before giving it another try. Still no beard. Lily tried again and again as James muttered words of encouragement and a couple of tries later, Lily started to grow a red beard. She giggled as it tickled her. She laughed and looked at James who was laughing too. The beard grew longer and longer and it slowly started to fade and turn white. Lily's smile slowly faded too and she looked at James in panic. Her beard was now long and white enough to rival Dumbledore's! She shrieked in panic. It almost reached her ankles! James tried to calm her down. Lily tugged at her beard and tried to pull it off but only hurt herself in the process.

"Lily!" James put a firm hand on her shoulders and shook her, "Calm down! We know the counter-spell. We can fix it."

Lily looked at James and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. We can fix it," she took in several deep breaths t calm herself down and then cast the counter-spell. But her beard stayed put. She tried again. But nothing seemed to change. She started to panic again. And this time, James too.

"James! What have you done?" she blinked back tears.

"What have I do-You were the one who cast the spell! How am I to blame?"

"You were the one who taught me! I know! You taught me wrong because I refused to turn into a reindeer!" Lily was screaming now.

"I would never do that!" James shouted back.

"Yes! That's exactly what you did!"

"I DID NOT do that! I would never in a million years do something like that!"

"Then, fix it!"

James lifted his wand and pointed it at her face.

"Fix it now, James!"

"I'm trying to! Can you please shut up? It's hard to concentrate with you shouting in my ear!"

"Oh! Now I'm the bad guy! You teach me the wrong way to do a spell just because I've no longing desire to turn into a reindeer! And when I ask you to fix it…"

James closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. But his anger and Lily's shouting made it impossible to do so. He quickly muttered a spell.

His eyes shot open a second later when he realized what he'd done.

* * *

**A/N: **Fluff, as promised! :) Haha so there you go :) How did you like it? Please review and let me know :) Also, I was thinking and I really could do with some help from you guys. What do you think could be Lily's third gift to James? Any ideas? Anything at all? If it's interesting and if I'm able to come up with a story based on it, I shall use it :) So please let me know! :) I'm in such a Christmas-sy mood! :D A very merry Christmas to all you readers out there! :D


	6. Tails, Wails and Suicide Attempts

**Lucky Christmases And Long Gone Animosities**

**A/N:** Hello :) 6th chapter is finally here. I'm extremely sorry for the delay. Had a lot of exams. And then I finally had a week of vacation. But I couldn't get anything done then either. And now the next semester has started and I've some boring classes :P I wrote this in one of them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it as much I did writing it. A huge thanks to all those who reviewed last time and put it on alerts/favorites. And a special thanks to lightningscarpotter for being my beta :D

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Tails, Wails and Suicide Attempts.**

Lily was panicking. She heard a strange sound and eventually realized it was her own heart hammering. Her calf muscles pained as she was crouched on the snow behind the bushes next the tree. She tried to sit cross legged but immediately gave up as she felt a sharp pain shoot up her rear. She stood up and whirled around trying to see if there was something on her backside. Try as she might, she could see nothing.

But she did notice a nice soft patch of grass showing through the snow. And was alarmed to find that it looked extremely appetizing. She suddenly found herself extremely hungry and wanted to eat it.

Concentrate, she told herself firmly and looked away from the scrumptious grass. She reached back and slowly ran a hand through her back and shrieked as she felt something soft and hairy. She tugged at it only to feel that pain again. It seemed to be stuck to her butt. Mortified, she slowly resumed her earlier position. She had a tail. A soft tail like that of a Reindeer's. All thanks to James. She should never have depended on him to teach her the spell! She cursed and promised herself she was never going to ask him for any sort of help whatsoever. He was such a moron. A sore loser. A pampered brat. He had to get his way Every Single Time. She had refused his offer to get turned into a reindeer but here she was. Well, not a complete Reindeer but a Reindeer all the same. She had a pair of antlers, fur on her hands, a tail and hooves for feet. She cursed again and decided to get her revenge. Oh yes. She was going to make him pay. She was going to make him wish he had never messed with her. You just don't mess with Lily Evans. She laughed an evil laugh in her head and began plotting.

She was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly spotted a figure walking towards her about 40 feet away from the bushes.

"Hoy!" she exclaimed to herself as she was surprised to see someone out on the grounds on a cold day in this part of the grounds. It was usually empty here. That was why Lily had gone there in the first place. She peered through the bushes trying to figure out who it was. She recognized the long black hair and the familiar strut. Sirius Black. A confused look appeared on her face as she wondered what he was doing there. The Head Girl in her wanted to march up to him and demand an explanation. But the animal in her prevented her from doing so. She came up with random theories and her eyes went wide as a thought suddenly struck her. What if he was here because James had sent him? He had gone to the castle an hour (only ten minutes in reality) ago and wasn't back yet. Maybe he was not man enough to face Lily's wrath and had sent Sirius. Lily could not let him of all people see her like that. He would announce it to the entire castle. No, this was not happening. She shook her head violently, muttering no repeatedly. She immediately stopped as her antlers got entangled in the bushes. She scowled as she slowly freed them. Muttering curses - the cussing kind, not the magic kind - she stared at the approaching figure of Sirius. She sighed as she put her head in her furry little hands as she realized there was no other way.

Death before dishonour, she decided.

She said a silent prayer as she shut her eyes. She thanked her parents for everything they had done for her. She thanked Petunia and said she was sorry for everything. She thanked all her friends and professors at Hogwarts. She even forgave James. She then let out a deep breath . She opened her eyes and took out her wand. She stared at the tree next to her. She would cast a spell on the heaviest branch and stand right under it. It wasn't the greatest way to die but she had to do it.

Death before dishonour, she reminded herself again.

She stood up but wobbled as she hadn't mastered the art of walking on hooves yet - now she didn't have to anymore - and held on to the tree for support. As she stood, the patch of grass caught her eye once again. She tried to ignore it and looked up at the tree. She looked for a heavy branch and found one a little behind her and hobbled back to stand underneath it. As she looked at it, she could see the grass through her peripherals and imagined feeling it on her skin and inhaling their heavenly smell. Concentrate, she immediately scolded herself again and raised her wand and, with all the determination she could muster, she cast the spell.

But the grass diverted her attention and the spell wasn't powerful enough. She cursed at the grass and figured she might as well enjoy it while she could. She was going to die anyway. She could feel her stomach do somersaults as she tottered to the grass. She went down on her knees and cleared some more of the snow and she felt a smile creep into her face as she felt the grass on her palm. She leaned forward and inhaled the smell. It was heavenly. Just like she had imagined. She licked her lips and bit into the grass and yanked it away from the ground. She closed her eyes and began chewing and all she could see on the inside of her eyelids was herself running through a field of Daisies.

Lily Evans had had an epiphany. Grass tasted Fabulous. Even better than Treacle Tarts. This revelation made Lily wonder why she'd never tried it before. She had been so stupid. As she sat chewing, and dreaming about hot grass chocolate milkshakes, she heard footsteps. She frowned, annoyed at the interruption, and opened her eyes.

"Lily?" James stood a foot away from her. He was gawking. Didn't he realize it was not good manners to stare at someone while they were having their meal? Lily scowled at him. "Is that grass?" Of course it was grass, you stupid oaf. Lily's scowl deepened. What else could taste this good? Gosh! He was so stupid. He was so stupid that his stupidity defied gravity.

"Merlin's pants, Lily!" Remus interjected as he came up behind James. Lily frowned. A friend of his. Her eyes darted behind him as she heard a shriek and a short pudgy boy came into view. Peter. Great, she thought, another one of his imbecile friends. They just didn't know when to stop, did they? Did he have to bring an entire army of people? Couldn't he have-hold on, what was he doing there? He had gone to the castle to get help. Help because she was half a Reindeer now. Realization dawned her. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she realized what she was doing. She shrieked and immediately spat out the grass and cleaned her mouth with her scarf. She heard a giggle escape Peter's mouth and gave him one of her death glares. The boy immediately started chewing on his nails and staggered backwards.

"Lily," Remus said in a soothing voice as he approached her carefully and put his arm around her. "It's alright. Just stay put. I'll fix it, okay?" Lily nodded as she bit her cheeks and tried to blink back tears. She was not going to cry. Crying was for weaklings and she was not one of them. She brushed off some of the grass that had fallen on her sweater and closed her eyes and let Remus do the job.

"You can open your eyes now, Lily. It's fine," she felt James slide an arm around her shoulder and whisper into her ear. She slowly opened her eyes and was relieved to see she was a normal teenage girl again. She let out a deep breath and turned to look at James, who was using up all that he had in him to not laugh. She could feel him smirking on the inside. "Oh, Lily-"

"Shut up. Don't 'Oh, Lily' me!" She decided it was time to get rid of his smirk.

Then a lot of things happened at once and happened fast. Lily reached for her wand and cast a hexing spell and James, who had anticipated this, ducked, as he had done so numerous times before to escape being hexed by that very wand. The spell hit the tree and, unfortunately for Peter, the branch that Lily had tried to use as her suicide weapon was right above him now and it broke away due to the impact and crash-landed on him.

For a moment everyone was silenced by shock and it was as if time stood still. Peter groaned and then all of them started to move at once. Lily levitated the branch off of him and Remus and James ran to his side. Peter's swollen head had turned pink and there was a nasty bruise on his forehead. Just before Lily could put the branch away she heard a high pitched grotesque noise like fingernails on a black board coming from the woods and immediately dropped her wand to cover her ears. The levitating spell no longer held the branch and it hit Peter in the stomach. James and Remus were closing their ears too. As soon as the sound stopped the three of them ran in the its direction, leaving Peter crying out in pain. They walked for about a minute in the woods in search of the source of the wailing before seeing someone standing in the clearing a few feet ahead of them. They started running towards it just as the sound started again.

And then they saw what happening. Lily and Remus bumped into James in shock. Peter cried in agony but nobody heard.

The sounded stopped again and silence descended on them.

"Merlin's beard, Padfoot!" James exclaimed in horror, breaking the spell of shock.

Sirius Black whirled around with a similar expression on his face.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you liked it. I'd really appreciate it if you could a couple of minutes to review :) Thank you! The next chapter will be up soon :)  
Oh and I finished the Divergent series a couple of weeks back and I absolutely loved it! I can't wait for Detergent now :D Lol.


End file.
